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by Wordmaker123



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, Supportive mom friend Gert, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 14:18:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13637994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordmaker123/pseuds/Wordmaker123
Summary: Nico and Alex were together. Karolina should be happy for her friends. So why was she so damn miserable.





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**Prompt - _'Can you do something really angsty about unrequited love???'_**

* * *

Karolina stared unblinkingly into the fireplace as she sat alone in the living room of the Stein’s summer home.

Long ago she had stopped trying to maintain a regular sleep schedule and often found herself curled up alone in the unyielding leather armchair that had once belonged to Chase’s father. She still didn’t understand why anyone would buy such an uncomfortable chair, but she supposed if anybody were to own one as rigid as this it would be Victor Stein. Chase had told them that when he visited the lake house when he was younger the chair had been off limits. Karolina received a strange sense of satisfaction from breaking the rule.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there exactly but the hourly chime of the grandfather clock, another pretentious item bought Victor Stein, and the way the fire had gradually dwindled down into embers gave her an educated guess. Way too long.

It had become a routine for her. Creeping down the stairs whenever she couldn’t sleep and clutching a pillow to her chest as she tried to quiet her overwhelming thoughts. The grand, king size bed she had all to herself didn’t help. If anything it just emphasised how small she felt.

The nights where she couldn’t sleep came frequently but the degree of her insomnia seemed to perfectly correlate with one particular external factor. Nico. Or to be more accurate, Nico and Alex.

She had noticed very quickly into their stay that the number of hours she slept completely depended on how affectionate the two had been that day.

Neither of them were too keen on PDA, a fact which brought Karolina endless relief but they couldn’t help the long looks, fond smiles, small touches, and all the other little things that made Karolina’s heart clench painfully before she quickly glanced away. It was killing her.

Luckily Victor Stein had a taste for extravagance which meant that during the day she could escape to one of the many rooms of the house and be as far away from everyone as possible. The problem only really became prevalent when she needed to sleep, in her bedroom which was next door to Alex.

Well it was supposed to be Alex’s but she could pick out Nico’s soft voice easily.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much if she didn’t already know what it was like to kiss Nico, but she had been stupid and taken a chance. Now she would pay the price.

Because she had wanted to talk to Nico about it. To confess the true extent of her feelings but they were interrupted by Gert and Chase. Then she was taken to the church. When she returned Nico had approached her in the van and initiated the conversation that Karolina had been replaying over and over in her head for the past two weeks.

_“So, what happened at the dance. It was a little weird right?” Nico had stated awkwardly as she approached. Her hands thrust deeply in her jacket pocket as she purposefully avoided karolina’s eyes._

_Karolina stopped mid movement, she had been preparing to crawl forward in the van to be closer to Nico. Instead she shifted backwards, retreating further into herself. Her bright smile became strained and she struggled not to let the disappointment show in her eyes. Not that it mattered. Nico wouldn’t even look at her anymore and it was all her fault. She needed to salvage what little of their friendship she hadn’t destroyed with her idiotic feelings._

_She coughed in an attempt to dislodge the large lump that had built up in the back of her throat. The answer came out sounding jumbled and rushed._

_“I-uh-weird. Yeah super weird.”_

_Nico’s eyes finally glanced her way and Karolina’s breath hitched when their eyes met. Nico didn’t notice. She did frown though._ _  
_

_“It doesn’t have to be though. I mean we’re best friends and it was only a kiss. No big deal. We were caught up in the moment, you know, possible last night on earth and all.”_

_“Yeah. It was only a kiss…”_

She had thought about the exchange everyday since it happened two weeks ago.  Would things have played out differently if she had been honest. She doubted it. If Nico held any feelings for her she wouldn’t have moved onto Alex so quickly. Not when Karolina still wasn’t even slightly over their one kiss.

It was embarrassing. The pitiful looks Gert and Chase would constantly throw her way. They made her feel pathetic.

She was pretty sure Gert had figured out what had happened soon after they arrived at the lake house.She was always the most observant of the group. Chase had also likely put the pieces together after catching them at the dance. Plus Karolina wasn’t good at hiding her feelings and the only reason Nico hadn’t noticed was because Karolina made herself scarce as often as possible.

She wasn’t sure how long it took for her brain to slow down but eventually she drifted off.

It felt like only minutes before she felt a hand gently pushing her further back into the chair and a voice slowly penetrated her fuzzy consciousness.

“I thought I told you to stop sleeping down here. It’s not good for your neck.” The familiar annoyed voice of Gert said but Karolina knew it meant she was worried.

She blinked her eyes open to find Gert adjusting her so that she wasn’t seconds away from slipping off the chair anymore. Her neck did ache but admitting that to Gert would only start another lecture and Karolina wasn’t in the mood.

“What ungodly hour did you stay up until this time?” Gert asked exasperatedly as she pressed a warm mug of tea into Karolina’s hands. Karolina stared down at the contents detachedly as she shrugged. “Seriously?” Gert scoffed at the gesture. Karolina winced and felt the guilt build in her chest at the tone.

“Sorry.” she mumbled and hugged the mug closer to her chest.

“Don’t apologise.” Gert sighed and collapsed down on the sofa. “Just try to sleep more. Please?” Karolina nodded. She had been trying but every creak from the room next door, every time she heard Nico’s voice sent her spiralling. In fact she spent most of her days in bed, just staring at the wall. There wasn’t much else to do.

Of course a simple solution would be to ask to switch rooms but that would lead to questions. Questions she couldn’t answer.

“Nico’s worried about you.” Gert told her softly and the name had Karolina’s head snapping up to gauge whether she was being truthful or not. She then realised how desperate she looked and stared back down at the tea. Her head bowed a little further in embarrassment.

“We all are. You spend most of your time in bed yet you still have bags under your eyes. You’ve lost a scary amount of weight and I’ve barely heard you speak more than five words in a row for weeks.”

“Sorry.” Karolina whispered and avoided Gert’s eyes shamefully.

“Stop saying that. Just stop apologising!.” Gert exclaimed loudly and Karolina barely reacted. She felt numb. She opened her mouth to say sorry again but managed to stop herself. Instead she snapped it shut and remained silent.

“We want to help you. Just tell us how to help.” Gert begged and Karolina felt helpless. She wanted to tell Gert how to help her but she couldn’t because she didn’t even know what was wrong with her. All she knew was that whatever it was was ruining her friends happiness as well. Sometimes she hated herself. Would they be better off without her constantly destroying everything?

Just then the door the the living room opened. Alex and Nico walked in but stopped short at the door when they noticed the other two occupants.

Karolina glanced at their intertwined hands and everything around her disintegrated into dulled resignation.

“I’m going back to bed.” she stated tonelessly, placing her untouched tea down on the coffee table as she passed the frozen couple without another word.

She slowly climbed into the unkempt bed and pulled the sheets over her head to block out the morning sun. She curled up in a foetal position and stared blankly at the underside of the duvet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Send your prompts to @karolinasjeans  
> Also I will be replying to all your comments on my other fics I just haven't had the chance :)


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